Evolve: Divergence
by phillip.miner
Summary: Sometimes, the only weapon you have is love. A fan fiction story for the game Evolve by Turtle Rock Studios. This story focuses on the characters Jack and Ida Lennox, taking place immediately before and during the monster invasion.


**Evolve – Divergence**

A Fan Fiction Story for Evolve by Phillip Miner

 _ **Chapter 1**_

Something was obstructing Jack's vision. He could barely see outside of his mask.

The only thing is, Jack didn't remember putting this mask on. That alone was enough to provoke his anxiety – nothing like having a mask forced on you to make you feel constrained.

Soon after Jack realized he was wearing a mask, he tried to take it off. But it weighed on his face so heavily that no amount of effort could rip it off. It was like it was bolted onto his skull. After he let his arms back down to his sides, though, he felt something cold and wet soak his back. His elbows hit a hard surface.

It was then that Jack discovered he was flat on his back. He didn't know what the cold, wet feeling was yet, but with enough effort, he eventually lifted his surprisingly heavy torso – he didn't remember being this heavy – into a sitting position. It was then that Jack saw, through what little vision the mask on his face allowed, what was causing the chill.

A cold, red liquid…blood.

It was unmistakably blood. The viscosity, the smell, it all screamed blood to Jack's senses. What the hell was Jack doing in a pool of it? He lifted his head to observe what else he could about this environment. Dim spotlights did what they could to highlight the oppressively dark scene. What little light they emitted offered even less in terms of solace, and far more in terms of panic considering what they revealed: bodies. Dozens of them.

If Jack was having anxiety before, it quickly turned into outright panic. Even before he could comprehend his panic, though, a bright flash lit up a corner of his mask-obscured vision. He quickly turned his head towards it. Just as he did, however, whatever emitted the flash went soaring right above his head and landed with a loud clank behind him. He was about to turn to face it, but his gaze was locked at what was immediately following the prior figure…

He saw a shadow above him. A sinewy, serpentine shadow, that undulated its way above him. It was headed for whatever emitted the bright flash, and quicker than he knew he could right now, he turned to face them both.

He could see what emitted the bright flash more clearly now. It was what Jack could only describe to himself as a metallic humanoid. The serpentine shadow was what came between Jack and the metallic humanoid. A bright beam suddenly shot out of one of the hands of the seeming metal man. With this beam, it attempted to take a swing at the shadow – a swing and a miss! The shadow not only ducked out of the way, but before Jack could react, the shadow was coiling around the metal man. The coil grew tighter around it. Jack knew not what to do.

Who was right? Who was wrong? What side was he supposed to take? Jack was literally paralyzed with fear at this new situation. The question of whose side he should take was soon answered, however. The helm of the metal man was popped clean off as the pressure from the serpentine shadow grew around it.

Under the helmet, however, was no man. It was a woman's face. But it was no ordinary woman.

It was the face of Ida Lennox. His mother. And it was twisting in agony.

As the pressure grew around Jack's mother encased in this suit of armor, she clenched her teeth to try not to scream. But eventually she did. Her scream was immediately audible to Jack as his own name.

Jack tried to get up. He tried devoting every ounce of what little strength he had to try to move. But it was no use…Jack could not figure out why he wasn't able to move…but one thing he did notice was the cold, wet feeling creeping up his legs, to his thighs, to his waist.

The pool of blood he was in was either getting deeper, or it was pulling Jack down.

Jack's mother cried out again for Jack. All Jack could do, however, was extend a hand in a futile attempt to grab what he could. He grasped nothing but air.

Ida Lennox called out again. All Jack could do in his situation was scream for his mother.

He screamed "Mom!" over what seemed like an eternity of watching her suffer.

And then it was over…the next thing Jack knew, he felt his torso shoot up again into a sitting position. Jack felt cold, likely from the profuse amount of sweat drenching his body and the goosebumps adorning his skin in great abundance. He was hyperventilating, gasping for air at a rate he didn't even know he was breathing at.

Eventually Jack realized what just happened. He had a nightmare. Soon after that realization dawned, the light in his quarters flickered into life, from which Jack shielded his eyes. A voice spoke…a soothing male voice that, as soothing as it was, screamed irritation to Jack's ears.

"Master Jack! Do not be alarmed. Calm down. This level of stress can put a serious strain on your vital organs."

The EMET drone from which the voice emanated started its clanking march towards Jack's bedside. It stopped just short.

Jack turned towards the EMET drone, still shielding his eyes from the light in his quarters which just stopped flickering.

"Ugh…leave me alone, EMET," groaned Jack. "It was just a bad dream."

"A nightmare," chimed in the EMET drone, "which was caused by the lack of your prescribed antidepressant in your system. I noticed you missed your dosage before you went to bed."

"Come on, EMET. So I missed taking a pill. What's the big deal?"

"Isn't it obvious, Master Jack?" With that, the EMET drone produced a pill in one of its claw-like hands, and a glass of water in the other.

"I guess you won't leave me alone until I take this." Jack reluctantly took both items, and quickly downed the pill with a big gulp of water. Soon after he did so, the public address system came on in his quarters.

"Arriving at our destination, planet Shear. Paterson Drive disengaging in t-minus five minutes."

Jack sighed heavily at the thought of having to move so soon. The EMET drone was more enthusiastic, however.

"Yay! After another semester at the boarding school, I bet you are really excited to finally see your Mom!" chirped the EMET drone.

"Yeah. Super thrilled," Jack said in a monotone. "A summer vacation from science school to be spent…studying more science. I'm so excited I just can't hide it."


End file.
